Isn't cheesy, baked pasta the best? Let everyone enjoy the fun of making and eating their own mini pasta pies with this fool-proof recipe for a hands-on family feast!
Pasta Pie Bar
Hands-on time:
10 minutes
Start-to-eat time:
20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente
- 3 or more different pasta sauces like marinara, alfredo and basil-peso
- 3 or more different cheeses like shredded mozzarella, shredded fontina, and ricotta
- parmesan cheese
- olive oil
Kids kitchen skills:
- baking
Tools:
- oven-safe mugs
- tongs
- spoons
- large bowls
- small bowls or ramekins
- plates
Step-by-step
Grown-up steps
- Place several oven-safe mugs, tongs, and spoons on your counter or table, and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Fill a large bowl with slightly undercooked (or al dente) rigatoni noodles tossed with a little olive oil and parmesan. Lay smaller bowls alongside the pasta filled with different sauces like marinara, alfredo, and basil-pesto
- Lay smaller bowls alongside the pasta filled with different sauces like marinara, alfredo, and basil-pesto
- Finish the assembly-line spread with bowls of mozzarella, Parmesan, ricotta, and fontina, and fresh herbs and dried spices like basil, thyme, oregano and chili flakes.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Let everyone grab a mug, and tell them to place a spoonful of their favorite sauce at the bottom. Add two spoonfuls of cheese and mix in any fresh herbs.
- Snugly fill the base of your mug with upright pieces of rigatoni. Then add two more spoonfuls of sauce and cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan and any dried spices.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, and remove immediately with oven mitts.
- Place a plate on top of each mug and flip over, working quickly so the cheese doesn't harden and stick to the bottom. Or eat straight from the mug!
